The EU and its member countries have not recognised the Taliban government since the militant group returned to power five years ago after 20 years of war against a government backed by a ​US-led NATO force.

But Brussels has defended its decision to hold limited talks with Afghanistan’s “de facto ​authorities” as necessary to deport failed asylum seekers who commit crimes or are ⁠deemed dangerous.

A spokesperson for the EU’s executive European Commission said that officials from the commission and 15 ​EU member states had attended the Brussels meeting, a follow-up to a previous meeting held in Kabul ​in January.

“The Commission services and Sweden co-chaired a technical-level meeting today in Brussels with technical-level representatives of the de facto authorities of Afghanistan responsible for return and readmission,” the Commission spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry described the agenda ​as wider, saying it included a possible consular presence in the EU, resumption of consular services for ​Afghans there, and “the need for trust-building measures”.

The meeting raised “hope to build positive momentum to safeguard consular rights of Afghans ‌residing abroad,” ⁠added the spokesperson, Abdul Qahar Balkhi.

A letter from the Commission addressed to Balkhi and reviewed by Reuters said the talks would focus “on the return and readmission of Afghan nationals without a right to stay in the EU.”

The visit was heavily criticised by rights groups and a number of European politicians who said that ​such engagement could put ​Afghans at risk and ⁠undermine core EU values.

“Every invitation, every visa and every official meeting sends a political signal. The Taliban are not seeking technical discussions; they are seeking legitimacy,” ​Hannah Neumann, a European lawmaker from the Green Party, said in a statement ​backed by parliamentarians ⁠from Germany and former lawmakers from Afghanistan.

Belgium’s Foreign Ministry had issued a visa that allowed the Afghan representatives to enter the country for only one day and restricted their presence to Belgian soil, rather than allowing normal ⁠free movement ​in the EU’s Schengen zone.

Since returning to power, the Taliban ​have steadily curtailed rights, restricting women’s freedom of movement, banning girls from education beyond primary school and enforcing morality laws that limit ​free expression and access to employment.